1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a light source control device controlling a plurality of light sources and a game machine including the light source control device.
2. Related Art
In game machines such as a slot machine and a pachinko machine, various ideas for giving performances appealing to a visual sense, a hearing sense, or a feeling of a player are introduced in order to attract interest of the player. Particularly, many light sources are provided in the game machine in order to give the performance appealing the visual sense of the player. For example, a light emitting diode (LED) is used as the light source. Use of a combination of the red, blue, and green LEDs gives such a performance that an emission color is changed in various ways.
Sometimes several hundred LEDs are arranged in a front surface of the game machine in order to enhance a performance effect. Emission luminance or an emission period of each of the LEDs is adjusted according to the performance, which allows an emission state of the front surface of the game machine to be changed in a widely varying manner.
However, with increasing number of LEDs mounted on the game machine, the number of wires used to drive the LEDs is increased and the number of terminals, which are provided in a performance processor unit to output signals controlling the LEDs, is also increased. When the number of wires is increased, the wire is hardly installed in a rear surface of the game machine and cost of the performance processor unit is also increased.
Sometimes a light source control device, which is placed between the performance processor unit and each LED to control an emission intensity and emission timing of the LED, is mounted on the game machine in order to decrease the number of wires and the number of terminals of the performance processor unit (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-24523).
In the game machine disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-24523, the plurality of LEDs are controlled by a dynamic control system using a lighting control circuit corresponding to the light source control device. In the dynamic control system, each LED is connected to one of a plurality of selection wires. In each predetermined cycle, a constant-voltage source sequentially supplies power to only one of the plurality of selection wires for a given period. Therefore, in the dynamic control system, the plurality of LEDs connected to the different selection wires can be lit and turned off by controlling one switching circuit.